Hand protector



July 20, 1954 J, DAvlLA 2,683,878

HAND PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 21, 1952 E g l i 36 46 48 Juan 8. Davlla INVENTOR.

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latented July 26, 1954 UNITED STATS PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates in general to a hand protector which may be conveniently secured over the back of the hand in order to protect the same from injury by sharp instruments and falling objects.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved hand protector in the form of a sheet of flexible material provided with strap means for retaining the same in overlying position with respect to the back of a hand and fingers.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved hand protector which is formed of a flexible sheet or" material such as leather and has its securing means so positioned that the ends thereof adapted to overlie fingers of a hand may be trimmed in order to provide a hand protector of the desired size and length. I

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved hand protector which is formed of readily attainable materials and is of simple construction whereby it may be economically manufactured.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved hand protector for overlying the back of a hand, said hand protector including a plurality of metal strips in substantially end to end relation whereby cutting of the hand protector by a sharp instrument is prevented and at the same time the hand protector retains sufficient flexibility.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of a workman cutting sugar cane with a machete while utilizing the improved hand protector, which is the subject of this invention, to protect the hand holding the sugar cane, only the central portion of the workman being illustrated;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the underside of the hand protector of Figure 1 and shows the relation of the means for securing same to the hand of a workman;

Figure 3 is an end view of the hand protector of Figure 1 and generally shows the position of the various portions thereof with respect to the flexible material which is the main portion of the hand protector; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the hand protector of Figure 1 showing the arrangement of the upper surface thereof, the upper surface being provided with a plurality of metal strips in order to prevent the cutting of the flexible material by a sharp instrument.

Similar characters of reference designate Sim-- ilar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the different views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in particular, it will be seen that there is illustrated in Figure l a workman who is in the process of cutting a length of sugar cane It held in his left hand l2 by a machete i l held in his right hand. In order to prevent accidental cutting of the left hand 12 in the process of the trimming of the sugar cane It by the machete It, the left hand It is provided with the improved hand protector, which is the subject of this invention, the hand protector being referred to in general by the reference numeral it.

While it is rare for a workman to accidentally cut his hand while cutting sugar cane due to his own accidental erroneous swinging of the machete M, the hand of a workman is often cut by his own machete due to the deflection of same by other sugar cane being cut by a second workman in an adjacent row. In the harvest of sugar cane, workmen proceed down adjacent rows cutting the sugar cane and trimming the same. When one workman is trimming the sugar cane in his row the other workman may be cutting the sugar cane in the adjacent row with the result that some of the sugar cane may accidentally fall towards the first workman and deflect his machete Hi during a downward swing thereof and cut the left hand I? holding sugar cane H). In countries such as Pnertc Rico where the growing of sugar cane is a major industry, the harvest of the sugar cane during recent years has cost the government millions of dollars for medical attention and pensions paid out for mutilated fingers and hands caused by the unsafe or primitive way of harvesting the crops.

In order that the hand protector 16 may fully protect the hand holding sugar cane while cutting the same with a machete, it is formed of a tough resilient sheet [8 which is generally rectangular in plan view and having a curved forward end 20. The flexible sheet I8 is preferably formed of leather, although it may be formed of other suitable flexible materials. The resilient sheet of material i8 is provided with two pairs of slits 22 adjacent the rear end 24 thereof and normal thereto. Each of the slits 22 is parallel 3 to the others and of the same length so as to form a pair of spaced parallel loops 26 projecting outwardly from the undersurface of the sheet of resilient material l8.

Extending through the loops 26 is a strap 28 having one end thereof folded back upon itself and secured to the main portion thereof by a rivet 30 to form a loop 32. Carried by the loop 32 is a oonvenitional buckle 34. The buckle 34 is provided with a tongue 36 for adjustable engagement in apertures 38 in the other end of the strap 28.

Also secured to the underside of the sheet of resilient material 55, but adjacent to the curved end 20 thereof is a loop 49 whose end portions 42 are secured to the sheet of resilient material 18 by rivets 44. It will be understood that the loop 40 is adapted to receive the thumb or forefinger of the hand on which the hand protector I6 is mounted.

In order to prevent cutting of the sheet of flexible material Is by a sharp instrument such as the machete Hi there is secured to the upper surface thereof a plurality of narrow metal strips 46 and 48. It will be noted that the metal strips 46 and 48 extend longitudinally of the sheet of resilient material l8 and is secured thereto by a plurality of rivets 50, one rivet being positioned adjacent each end of each of the strips.

The metal strips 45 and i8 are positioned with ends in substantial abutting offset relation in order to fully protect the upper surface of the sheet of resilient material l8 and at the same time allow longitudinal flexing of same. The metal strips &6 and 48 are also positioned adjacent one side edge of the sheet of resilient material in order to be positioned over the highest portion of the hand of the workman during a normal cutting and other type of working operation. By so positioning the metal strips, a machete or other sharp object will strike the metal strips before it strikes the sheet of flexible material I3.

When it is desired to utilize the hand protector I6, it is placed in overlying relation with respect to the back of a hand and the strap 28 is passed around the wrist of the hand and tightly secured thereto through the buckle 34 and the apertures 38. The forward end 20 of the hand protector i6 is retained in correct position with relationship to the fingers of the hand by passing either the thumb or the forefinger of the hand through the loop 48.

The sheet of resilient material 18 is made sufficiently long so as to protect the fingers of a hand of a large person and the forward end 23 thereof may be trimmed as desired in order to fit the hand of the owner of the hand protector l6.

While the hand protector It has been described as protecting the hand of a workman while cutting sugar cane, it is not intended to so limit the invention as the hand protector may be utilized by workmen having other occupations. For example, in the case of a workman who is occupied in handling rocks or large stones, the hand protector will prevent injury to the hand by rocks rolling or falling down onto the hand by lifting other rocks. In fact, the hand protector will protect the hand of a workman engaged in any occupation where the back of the hand is subject to injury.

The operation of this device will be understood from the foregoing description of the details thereof, taken in connection with the above recited objects and drawings. Further description would appear to be unnecessary.

Minor modifications of the device, varying in minor details from the embodiment of the device illustrated and described here, may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claim.

Having described the claimed as new is:

A hand protector for overlying the back of a hand, said hand protector comprising a sheet of flexible material having upper and lower surfaces, a shaft carried by said material adjacent one end thereof and extending along said lower surface, said strap being adapted to engage the wrist of the hand being protected, said material being provided with a finger engaging loop secured to said lower surface adjacent the opposite end of said material, whereby the hand protector may be secured on the back of a hand and protect the same from injury, a plurality of elongated metal strips secured to said upper surface of said material, the ends of said strip in substantially abutting offset relation to fully protect the material against cutting by a sharp instrument and at the same time permitting flexing of the material, said metal strips extending longitudinally of the sheet of material from said strap to a point beyond said loop, at least one of said strips being in overlying relationship with said loop.

invention, what is References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,594,151 Chance July 27, 1925 1,962,258 Okuda June 12, 1934 2,119,396 Mann May 31, 1938 

